Sin City (the REAL sin of it all)

I'm at the airport in Las Vegas.

At first I want to take the bus to the hotel but $10 is the smallest I have, so I take a taxi.  Crazy traffic. Even though the MGM Grand is very close to airport: $21

Check in at the hotel. When she charges me US$32.48/night RESORT fee (which includes internet and is charged ON TOP of the OUTRAGEOUS room rate) I mention that in Hanoi you paid LESS than that for a hotel room. A NICE one!

Then I ask her whether there are any smoking rooms in their hotel.  She checks and then goes to see her manager.  She looks at my passport, and  exclaims "It's almost your birthday", to which I reply "Don't mention that one; it's the BIG ONE".
She comes back and tells me that I've been upgraded to a much nicer and bigger room on the 24th floor.

I look at the price list in the noom's mini bar.

Have a GOOD LOOK at that price list, in particular the small print at the bottom.  Take a can of coke and pay $54, that's what it says.                                              Las Vegas likes to portray itself as Sin City, for suckers who like to suck or get laid away from the neighbours or the wife, but what Las Vegas is REALLY about is emptying your pockets.                                           And people go there voluntarily to have that done to them.                                                       Unfortunately, the people who come here to spend 1000s of dollars on outrageously overpriced goods and the ILLUSION of FUN are also the same people who would not give a quarter to a homeless Indian in their hometown.  Hmmm.                                                They DESERVE to be here because this place is HELL.

I go down to a store-like thing they have on the ground floor and pay $25.15 for a bottle  of water, a small orange juice, a small bag of pistachios, and a pack of chocolate chip cookies.  WOW! No wonder the  items on the shelves aren't price-tagged !

When I'm still hungry after the cookies I realize that I didn't  eat anything on the plane and that lunch at YVR consisted of a miso soup and 2 pieces of Nigiri.  No wonder I'm starving.

I almost faint when I see the price tag of US$23 for Salted Fish and Chicken Fried Rice in an MGM restaurant.

Unfortunately, I still haven't learned that at my advanced age my stomach simply can't handle full portions anymore and I finish the plate, only to very much regret that later that night.





The next day I have more opportunity to further develop my loathing of this city.  Try finding a banking machine of a major bank. It seems the major bank ATMs (which charge $2 or $3 transaction fees) have to hide somewhere in obscure hidden places and leave the prime spots for NO-NAME ATMs charging $4.99 fees.  Pathetic.

If you're trying to find a grocery store to escape the outrageous prices of hotel stores: Good Luck.  I was lucky to find a gas station and a CVS drug mart where prices are about 33% of the ones in the Casino stores.

But I'm here for a good cause, so I'm biting the bullet.  My good friends  Alan and Glenda are renewing their wedding vows Elvis style.

The same evening, after dinner with Alan, Glenda, and their wonderful kids and guests, I meet THE BOTTLE. It is a 340 ml bottle of Apple Juice.  

The price?  Does it really matter?  You always wanted to go to Vegas, didn't you? Go and find out whether they charge 4x, 5x, or 10x the regular price.  

Only one thing is CERTAIN.  You will NOT see me there ;-)